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Boston Trends (6/7/2005)
The year 2004 will go down in history as one of the best, if not the best sports year in Boston
history. The Celtics are mediocre and the Bruins aren't even playing right now, but Boston's pro teams
won two championships for the first time in history. If you also happen to be a fan of the UConn Huskies,
you had an even better sports year. The only year in the past three decades that comes close is 1986 when
three Boston teams reached the finals in their respective sport. Only the Celtics, unfortunately, could
bring home a title that year.
I decided to examine the ups and downs of Boston professional sports over the past three decades on a
slightly more scientific level. Here are the results:
- In terms of regular season winning percentage, the best year was 1976. The four Boston pro teams
combined for a winning percentage of .666 that year as the Pats, Celtics and Bruins each won more than
65% of their games. A memorable 1986 was second with an average winning percentage of .658.
Last year came in third with a combined winning percentage of .638.
- The worst year for the four Beantown teams was 1997. Boston teams had an average winning percentage
of only .415 that year. Only the Patriots finished over .500 that season. The year 2000 was the
second worst season (.427) and 1992 was the third worst (.431).
- Three of the four Boston teams finished in first place in their division in a single calendar year
only twice in the past thirty years (1976 and 1986). At least one Boston team finished first in 26
of the last 30 years.
Winning Percentage by Year
| YEAR |
Sox |
Pats |
Celtics |
Bruins |
Avg |
| 1975 |
0.594 |
0.214 |
0.732 |
0.588 |
0.532 |
| 1976 |
0.512 |
0.786 |
0.659 |
0.706 |
0.666 |
| 1977 |
0.602 |
0.643 |
0.537 |
0.663 |
0.611 |
| 1978 |
0.607 |
0.688 |
0.390 |
0.706 |
0.598 |
| 1979 |
0.569 |
0.563 |
0.354 |
0.625 |
0.527 |
| 1980 |
0.519 |
0.625 |
0.744 |
0.656 |
0.636 |
| 1981 |
0.546 |
0.125 |
0.756 |
0.544 |
0.493 |
| 1982 |
0.549 |
0.556 |
0.768 |
0.600 |
0.618 |
| 1983 |
0.481 |
0.500 |
0.683 |
0.688 |
0.588 |
| 1984 |
0.531 |
0.563 |
0.756 |
0.650 |
0.625 |
| 1985 |
0.500 |
0.688 |
0.768 |
0.513 |
0.617 |
| 1986 |
0.590 |
0.688 |
0.817 |
0.538 |
0.658 |
| 1987 |
0.481 |
0.533 |
0.720 |
0.531 |
0.566 |
| 1988 |
0.549 |
0.563 |
0.695 |
0.588 |
0.599 |
| 1989 |
0.512 |
0.313 |
0.512 |
0.550 |
0.472 |
| 1990 |
0.543 |
0.063 |
0.634 |
0.631 |
0.468 |
| 1991 |
0.519 |
0.375 |
0.683 |
0.625 |
0.550 |
| 1992 |
0.451 |
0.125 |
0.622 |
0.525 |
0.431 |
| 1993 |
0.494 |
0.313 |
0.585 |
0.649 |
0.510 |
| 1994 |
0.470 |
0.625 |
0.390 |
0.577 |
0.516 |
| 1995 |
0.597 |
0.375 |
0.427 |
0.594 |
0.498 |
| 1996 |
0.525 |
0.688 |
0.402 |
0.555 |
0.542 |
| 1997 |
0.481 |
0.625 |
0.183 |
0.372 |
0.415 |
| 1998 |
0.568 |
0.563 |
0.439 |
0.555 |
0.531 |
| 1999 |
0.580 |
0.500 |
0.380 |
0.555 |
0.504 |
| 2000 |
0.525 |
0.313 |
0.427 |
0.445 |
0.427 |
| 2001 |
0.509 |
0.688 |
0.439 |
0.537 |
0.543 |
| 2002 |
0.574 |
0.563 |
0.598 |
0.616 |
0.587 |
| 2003 |
0.586 |
0.875 |
0.537 |
0.530 |
0.632 |
| 2004 |
0.605 |
0.875 |
0.439 |
0.634 |
0.638 |
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| Avg |
0.539 |
0.520 |
0.569 |
0.585 |
0.553 |
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Average Winning Percentage by Year (All Four Teams)
Winning Percentage by Year (By Team)
- The best five year record over the past thirty years occurred in the 1980-1984 period. During
those years, Boston pro teams averaged a .592 winning percentage. This timeframe was closely
followed by 1975-79 (.587), 1985-89 (.582) and 2000-2004 (.566). The nineties were not good times.
The teams were a shade below .500 in both five-year periods.
- Boston has won eight championships since 1975 (four by the Celtics, three by the Pats and one
by the Sox). None of those occurred in the 1990s. Boston teams only made two trips to the finals
in the 1990s.
Winning Percentage by Five Year Period (By Team)
| YEAR |
Win Pct |
Standings |
Playoffs |
Qtrs |
Semis |
Finals |
Champ |
| 1975-79 |
0.587 |
2.0 |
11 |
10 |
7 |
4 |
1 |
| 1980-84 |
0.592 |
2.3 |
11 |
8 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
| 1985-89 |
0.582 |
2.4 |
14 |
10 |
7 |
6 |
1 |
| 1990-94 |
0.495 |
2.8 |
10 |
7 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
| 1994-99 |
0.498 |
3.4 |
10 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
| 2000-04 |
0.566 |
2.6 |
11 |
7 |
6 |
4 |
4 |
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Standings: Average finish within the division
Playoffs: Number of trips to the playoffs
Qtrs: Number of trips to the quarterfinals
Semis: Number of trips to the semifinals
Finals: Number of trips to the finals
Champ: Number of championships
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STATISTICAL ANALYSIS ARCHIVE
MLB - One Run Games (8/2004)
How to Fill Out Your NCAA Brackets
Best MLB Teams Dollar for Dollar
NFL Power Rankings
NFL Playoff Analysis (2003)
NBA Playoffs Analysis (2002)
MLB Close Game Analysis (2002)
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